Hasta La Gadget!

You hear that? It’s the sound of tech journalists eagerly queueing up in San Francisco for tomorrow’s Apple event. This week is all about the latest iPhone, and while we’re still not quite sure what to call the thing, we can certainly attest to the fact that we’ll be saying it a lot for a while to come. As they did with last year’s iPhone event — and March’s iPad announcement — Tim and Darren will be bringing you a livestream from the streets of San Francisco both before and after the event. Keep locked on Engadget at around 10:30AM ET to get their full predictions. And while, as per usual, Apple’s not into letting third-parties broadcast from inside, you can still follow along with our liveblog at home.

Engadget will be broadcasting live outside of Apple’s iPhone event tomorrow! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re on the cusp of Apple’s sixth iPhone launch, and there’s very different expectations than there were last year. The 2011 rumor cycle left more than a few people burned: the later-than-usual October launch and repeated claims of a heavily-remade design led some to a disappointment when the iPhone 4S arrived, even though the final product had a slew of camera, speed and voice command upgrades. This year, the rumors have been grounded well before there was an event date in our hands.

There have been fewer instances of wild rumors. Instead, it’s been based more around pragmatism, using either tangible leaks or sources that have a solid track record. Think of the perennial leaks from the Wall Street Journal or the increasingly well-established sourcing from iMore and The Loop. Whether you’re conspiracy-minded or not, it’s been hard to ignore the sheer number of claims that have tamped down expectations rather than inflated them. It’s as though there’s a collective fear we’ll see a repeat of the 2011 hysteria and deal with fans (or detractors) complaining about missing features that were never promised in the first place.

Where last summer was full of uncertainty, this year there’s a mounting consensus as to what we’ll see, how we’ll get it, and when. Tracking everything that’s been mentioned may be a handful, however. With that in mind, we’ll dive in and gauge what’s likely to emerge from behind Apple’s curtain on September 12th — as well as what we can rule out from the get-go.

Continue reading iPhone 5: the rumor roundup

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

iPhone 5: the rumor roundup originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not even a full moon cycle has passed since Sharp’s president, Takashi Okuda, trumpeted the fact that his firm was one of the chosen few selected to provide screens for the new iPhone. Now, according to Reuters the troubled company has slipped behind on production, with The Wall Street Journal going as far to say mass production hasn’t started at all. The nearest thing to a reason given for the situation is “manufacturing difficulties.” If you were worried this might delay the reveal of Apple’s next flagship, the WSJ also reminds us that Sharp is still one of three suppliers, though it’s unclear just how big a slice of the production-pie Okuda’s brigade has been given. At the very least, those on the production line can likely enjoy some much appreciated overtime.

Filed under: Mobile

Sources claim Sharp’s production of iPhone screens delayed originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 04:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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